"Clos Erasmus and Laurel are not vineyard designations, but they do begin to take shape in the vineyard. Due to the meticulous farming and observation that takes place throughout the year, by the time fruit starts to reach the cellar in autumn much of the blends have already been mapped out by Daphne. When the primary fermentations are winding down the nascent Erasmus is slated for twelve 228 litre French oak barrels and a few amphorae. In any given vintage about 7 of the barrels are new and 5 are second-fill. In some vintages there will a declassification of a barrel into Laurel. Clos Erasmus remains in barrel and amphorae for 18-20 months before bottling. In 2011, the very difficult decision was made to declassify all the Clos Erasmus into the Laurel making it the only skipped vintage in the nearly 25-year history of the estate." Importer